CLUB PROFILE:
The AU Circus Club. Meets Mondays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. on the quad.
They can be found on the quad every Monday and Thursday at 5 p.m., painting each other's faces a variety of colors, juggling beanbags and sometimes even trying to unicycle. Passersby may wonder who they are and what on earth some of them are doing. And chances are, if someone asks, they will be more than happy to teach them a trick or two.
Who are they? The American Circus Club, of course.
If the club name sounds unfamiliar, don't be confused. Meghan Letters, junior in the School of Communication and a transfer student from Humboldt University in California, officially founded the group just this semester. She had been involved in the circus club at Humboldt for several years, and when she transferred she decided to found her own club here at AU.
The club might sound intriguing, but some may be worried about their lack of experience. After all, how many people actually know how to ride a unicycle?
One of the best things about the AU Circus Club is its openness to new people. Several of the current members had no prior experience when they first started, but learned from the other members of the club. "People come up to us on the quad and we'll teach them how to juggle on the spot," Letters says. "That's why we're out there in the open, to get attention and spark interest."
Although juggling may be the most familiar thing the club practices, it is not the only thing they do - not by far. There is a wide range of skills involved, including different types of juggling, poi (ropes with balls on the ends, swung in circular motions made by the wrists), staff (a type of martial art often seen in kung-fu movies), balancing, unicycling and acrobatics.
For those who are interested solely from a spectator's standpoint, mark those calendars. The club is having a show in the amphitheater April 22 at 8 p.m., meant to be a parody of the college experience, entitled "So I ran away to clown college." There's a loose plot, which will allow for the members' talents to be displayed through various choreography, created completely from scratch by the club members themselves. Skits, comedy and audience participation will all be incorporated. The show is free but donations are encouraged.
Putting on a show is only the beginning. The club hopes to soon hire out members to do entertainment at parties and perhaps even try some kind of street performing. "Street performing is great," she says. "It's a way to express yourself in a different setting and it really keeps your skills honed."
There are two different types of circus performing - an artistic side, more traditional and focused on clowns, bright colors and audience enjoyment; and a newer, more sports-like side, which focuses more on how many clubs can be juggled at once, or how high they can be juggled. Letters says the club identifies with the traditional, artistic side: "We're just here for fun. None of us really have eight hours a day to be practicing for a competition."
As for animal tricks: No way. "We love animals, and we are very anti-animal cruelty - we are animal-free," she says. So much for elephants.
